The Ethical Issues Regarding Hydraulic Fracturing

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The ethical issues regarding hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas in the Karoo are abundant and complex. Although it is not a new procedure with new technology, South Africa and especially the Karoo is not use to this term and what it entitles. There is no reason why the shale formations should not be developed to its full potential but the crisis is balancing the development and not effecting the residence living there in a negative manner. Communities was built where water was availability, industries contaminating that supply is simply unacceptable (Potter & Rashid, 2013). A lot of questions surrounds fracking, questions involving national government and job creation, local municipalities and job opportunities, economists and revenue, relevant infrastructure concerning local economy, local developers, current land owners and property value, food security, social and moral decline in society, local governments feeling towards Ubuntu and the list goes on and on. Although the list of potential problems is long, there is also some benefits in this industry as well. The state of South Africa now has a new form of revenue that will be collected by tax and permits. All cities and small town in the Karoo will benefit from all the new business brought on by the new drilling operators. All the farmers owning mineral rights will be financially rewarded by the gas industry leasing those rights (Potter & Rashid, 2013). The fact that natural resources continuous to dwindle is obvious, therefore the need for sustainable energy from alternative resources is completely understandable. Natural gas in the Karoo has raised several optimism regarding the abundance that has been found, however several ethical issues raises when drilli... ... middle of paper ... ...Waxmann et al. (2011) 750 different chemicals were used by various oil and gas companies during hydraulic fracturing over a four year period, where a minimum of 29 were identified to contain carcinogens which are listed as hazardous on both the clean air and safe drinking water act. The USEPA (2011) suggested that chemicals used during fracking should be monitored according to specific criteria. With the technical background in mind, this is certainly one of the categories to decide if fracking is ethical or not. The question can now be asked if transparency is being practiced. If it is not, then there will be ethical questions raised. Take the fracking industry for example, as seen above they have hidden some of the contents of the mixture being used. So now using this poisonous fluid and not telling the public about it that is not seen as ethical practice.

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